Options for Youth held its first advisory meeting for a new initiative, “What’s Up with Manhood?” on June 22. Participants from numerous social service programs, nonprofit agencies, and city and county departments discussed this unique approach for helping young men deal with the violence in their everyday lives.
Participants at the meeting agreed on the need for a long-term commitment to help break the cycle of violence among vulnerable adolescents. “What’s Up with Manhood?” helps young men think critically about how manhood is defined in their own community, and how negative stereotypes of manhood are linked to violence in their daily lives.
In April, Options for Youth began a pilot program with 24 teenage male students in the Little Village neighborhood. After three months, the response has been extremely positive, with the young male participants’ apprehension being replaced by the need to talk openly. As Options president Pat W. Mosena reminded the advisory group, “It’s one kid at a time. And these young men can then become change agents in their own communities.”